Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

I’ve never admitted this to anyone but I could eat chicken salad nearly every day, preferably on a flaky buttery croissant. I’ll eat it on whole wheat too, but there’s just something that the croissant adds to it that makes it even more irresistable to me. It’s one of my guilty pleasure foods. Not sure what the allure is but I adore it. My favorite chicken salad is from a little place downtown called Cottage Cafe. But at over $6.00 a plate for some chicken salad, a croissant and a few pieces of fruit, I just can’t justify fulfilling my craving every single day. For those times when I feel a craving coming on, I like to make my own to keep on hand for lunches. I had a partial bag of dried cranberries and some pecans in the freezer so I decided to concoct this chicken salad yesterday. It turned out really well. I think next time I might add some sliced grapes or apples as well to give it a little sweeter flavor. Overall it was delicious though.

Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

2 chicken breasts, cooked

1/2 cup mayo (plus more to get to the consistencey you desire)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Begin by placing the chicken in a food processor and pulse until the chicken chunks are the size you want. (I prefer mine finely chopped. Alternatively, you can chop the chicken with a knife or shred with your hands.) Place the chopped chicken in a bowl and add mayo, cranberries, pecans, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add additional mayo to reach desired consistency and additional salt to taste. Chill until ready to serve.

Makes about 2 cups.

*red grapes or chopped apples would be a great addition to this recipe

 

Not your average potato salad

It’s hard to believe I’m from the south and have never made potato salad. I’ve always liked it, but have always bought it from the deli counter or eaten some that other people have made. Well my husband invited my in-laws over last night to grill out and while he was in charge of the grill, I of course, was in charge of the sides. I thought potato salad would be a good side for grilled burgers. Since I knew I’d be working all day, I decided to make this potato salad the night before. This recipe is a little different in that the potatoes are roasted instead of boiled like in most potato salads. It turned out really good and everyone seemed to like it. I do think making it a day ahead really helped all the flavors to meld together nicely. I got this recipe from a cooking chat board that I frequent. Thanks ad52905 for this great recipe!

Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing
From Cooking Light

3 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 bacon slices (uncooked), chopped
2 cups diced Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 2 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar(I used red wine vinegar because that’s all I had on hand)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring once. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized, stirring frequently. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds. Add onion mixture and bacon to potatoes; toss gently. Let stand 15 minutes.

Combine mustard, mayonnaise, honey, and vinegar in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add mustard mixture and parsley to potato mixture; toss gently.

8 servings (yield: 1 cup)

 

Simple Egg Salad

Here’s my simple egg salad recipe. It’s one of my husband’s favorite things to eat so I thought since I was off today I’d make him some to eat for lunch this week. There are many variations of egg salad so this certainly isn’t the only way to make it. My mom and grandma always added mustard and sweet pickle relish, but my husband likes his plain and simple. So that’s how I make it. This is very tasty on some lightly toasted whole wheat bread or a buttery croissant.

After they’ve been chopped

Egg Salad

6 large eggs

1/2 cup mayo

1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

*1 tsp salt for the water-adding salt to the boiling water makes it easier to remove the shells from the eggs once they’re done. They will practically fall off!

Begin by placing eggs in a pot of cold water making sure the eggs are covered by the water. Bring to a boil, add 1 tsp of salt to the water, and boil for 12 min. Drain the water and rinse the eggs under cold water. Peel away the shells and rinse the eggs. Place the eggs in a food processor and process for about 10 seconds or until all the eggs are chopped uniformly. In a bowl, combine chopped eggs, salt, pepper, mayo and paprika. Stir to combine. Refrigerate immediately.

Taco Salad Bowls

Tonight’s dinner needed to be simple. We had some errands to run after work so I thought I’d keep dinner short and sweet. Or I guess I should say spicy! Taco salad is always a fast and yummy meal. Typically I serve crumbled tortilla chips on top of the salad greens, spicy taco meat, and cheese but tonight I made it a little different. I’ve been seeing these taco bowls on lots of food blogs lately and it occurred to me that I had never made it that way before. I think the crunchy tortilla bowl makes this common salad even better. We had this tonight with mexican rice.

Taco Salad Bowls

1/2 lb lean ground beef or turkey
2 cups lettuce or enough for 2 salads
1/2 cup chopped tomato (I used sliced grape tomatoes)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cheddar or mexican cheese
taco seasoning (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup water or beef broth
2 10″ tortillas
cooking spray

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp each)

Combine all ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make two balls out of aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. (You could also use ramekins.) Place tortillas over aluminum foil balls and spray with cooking spray. These should bake for about 10 min or until brown. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on the stove. Add chopped onion and ground beef. Cook until beef is done and drain. Add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water or beef broth. Stir to combine. Let this cook another couple minutes to heat through. Place salad greens in the taco shell. Top with beef, cheese, tomatoes and all your favorite toppings. Other toppings that would be good are black beans, corn, salsa, or sour cream.